English

Noun

chelidonius

1. (rare) A stone supposed to be taken from the stomach of a swallow, with purported magical or medicinal properties.
   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.4.1.iv:

     In the belly of a swallow, there is a stone found, called chelidonius, “which, if it be lapped in a fair cloth, and tied to the right arm, will cure lunaticks, mad men, make them amiable and merry.”

   • 1915, George Frederick Kunz, The Magic of Jewels and Charms, p.172:

     According to Thomas de Cantimpré the swallow-stone is a talisman for merchants and tradesmen. The merits of the chelidonius, as this stone was called, were fully recognized in Saxon England and are given due prominence in an Anglo-Saxon medical treatise, dating form the first half of the tenth century.

   • 1923, Lynn Thorndike, History of Magic and Experimental Science, vol.IV, p.421:

     while he discusses the chelidonius, he says nothing of extracting it so soon and describes the colors of its two varieties as black and red, and so does Bartholomew later on.

Translations

Latin

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek χελῑδόνῐος ‎(khelīdónios)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /kʰe.liːˈdo.ni.us/, [kʰɛ.liːˈdɔ.ni.ʊs]

Adjective

chelīdonius m ‎(feminine chelīdonia, neuter chelīdonium); first/second declension

1. of, belonging to, coloured like, or pertaining to the swallow

Declension

First/second declension.

Derived terms

• chelīdonia

Related terms

References

• chĕlīdŏnĭus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “chĕlīdŏnĭus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette, page 300/1.
• “chelīdonius” on page 309/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)